Posts Tagged ‘hawks’

Magic 112, Hawks 98

Friday, May 7th, 2010


The Orlando Magic came home strongly against the Atlanta Hawks to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. After a huge 18 point first quarter from Dwight Howard, the Magic watched the Hawks take the half time lead. But the Magic stormed back in the second half.

The game defining sequence occurred at the end of the third. The Magic were making a run at a three quarter lead until Jamal Crawford drained a crowd-silencing three with 5.4 seconds on the clock. With time left, Jameer Nelson took the inbounds pass, dribbled over the half court and around two Hawks’ defenders to launch a buzzer-beating three, which banked home to give the Magic an 84-83 lead. From there, it was all Orlando.

Hubie Brown said it during the telecast – Orlando plays for all 48 minutes. The series could end in Atlanta with another Magic sweep, and then the games get serious. Can the Orlando Magic be beaten four times in seven games by any team this season?

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Posted in Season 09-10 | 1 Comment »

Bobcats 109, Hawks 100

Friday, April 9th, 2010

The Charlotte Bobcats moved closer to their first playoff appearance with a 109-100 victory over the injury-depleted Atlanta Hawks. Gerald Wallace scored 28 points and the Bobcats made 28 free throws to send the lead out to 23 points in the third quarter before closing the game out in the fourth.

This was my first look at the Charlotte Bobcats. All the news about the Cats lately has been the ascendancy of Michael Jordan as the team owner. Nevermind their playing roster, which took me by surprise as I watched. A group of players from widely different situations who could gel together with a playoff run to become a fixture in the East in the coming years. Let’s take a quick look at the 09-10 Bobcats.

Player Past
Gerald Wallace The best player selected by the Cats in the 2004 expansion draft and only original member of the team. He’s become the franchise player with the franchise contract, and is putting up some franchise numbers.
Boris Diaw His best season was with the Phoenix Suns in 05-06. With Amare Stoudemire sidelined after microfracture knee surgery, Diaw emerged as a phenomenal point-forward in the Suns’ offense that made the Joe Johnson trade throw-in the steal of the season.
Stephen Jackson Starting two-guard for the 2003 NBA Champion Spurs who went into the stands with Ron Artest in Detroit in 2004. Key player in the Warriors’ upset first round victory over Dallas in 2007 but was bounced to Bobcats this season. Will Jack find a home in Charlotte?
Raymond Felton Ran UNC to the National Championship in 2005 and was drafted 5th behind franchise point guards Deron Williams and Chris Paul. He seems to have both benefited and suffered from being the third wheel, being both overrated and underrated as a result.
Theo Ratliff In his 14th season in the NBA, Ratliff has had somewhat of a renaissance this season. Labeled by Bill Simmons as Theo Ratliff’s Expiring Contract after being the centre-piece of the Wolves-Celtics trade for Kevin Garnett, Theo has become a cheap centre on this patchwork team.
Tyson Chandler /
Tyrus Thomas		 Both players were high draft picks of the Chicago Bulls but were ultimately dispensed. Now they form a dynamic front court punch off the bench in Charlotte where expectations are more reasonable and their roles more defined.
Larry Hughes He had a career year in Washington in 2004-05 and signed $70 million contract to play with Lebron James in Cleveland. Hughes never worked out and, like Ratliff, has spent most of the past five seasons being passed around because of his cap numbers rather than his court numbers.
D.J. Augustin So far the only draft pick that seems to have worked out for the Cats, DJ was taken 9th overall in the 2008 draft. He’ll get some valuable playing time and experience in the Bobcats’ playoff run.

An usually constructed roster – a group of rejects, projects and recreations – but a roster that will give one of the Eastern Conference’s Big 4 a stern test in the first round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs. Who’s your favourite Charlotte Bobcat?

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Posted in Season 09-10 | 1 Comment »

Thunder 106, Hawks 99

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

The Oklahoma City Thunder delivered a season sweep to the Atlanta Hawks on their first appearance on One HD this season, closing out an entertaining game 106-99. Durant, Westbrook and Green all starred for the Thunder, whose young roster continues to rise in the Western Conference.

This was my first chance to see Kevin Durant play, and he is just as reported. Tall, long, mobile with a sweet shot, athletic around the rim, smart with and without the ball and a deserving All-Star selection. I was also watching the game with a view towards the crucial matchup with the Suns later in February, and I made some scouting notes.

  • Grant Hill managed to slow down Nowitzki in the Suns-Mavs game last week, and he’ll probably get first crack at Durant. Dudley and Amundson will probably share the duties off the bench. With Durant sharing the scoring title with Carmelo Anthony at this point, there’s no chance to shut him down. However, good defense can limit his opportunities to make his team-mates better.
  • There is no-one on the Suns’ roster who can stay with Westbrook. Watching Russell push the ball, attack the boards and run the team was great, but is bad news for Nash and Dragic.
  • Offensive rebounding was a big part of the Thunder’s win over the Hawks, and the Suns will have to limit second chance points.

There is more Thunder on the way for NBA fans. Follow all the NBA games with the NBA Scoreboard addon for Firefox.

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Hawks 76, Magic 93

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

Dwight Howard dunkThe Atlanta Hawks surrendered the best record in the East to the Orlando Magic on Thanksgiving with a 76-93 home loss. The Hawks dropped to 7-1 at home, and rightly so, wearing red alternate uniforms more suitable for the road.

The Magic were sparked in the second half by Dwight Howard and Anthony Johnson, highlighted by a large alley-oop dunk by Howard from a Johnson lob.

I was keen to see both these teams after catching them both during One HD’s coverage of the 2009 NBA playoffs. The Magic didn’t look as good as the team that beat the Cavaliers, and the Hawks didn’t look as good as the team that beat Dwyane Wade. Having said that, the Hawks looked a lot closer to their ceiling (2nd half FG% aside) than the Magic. I won’t be surprised to see these two teams meet in the playoffs this season.

The game also wrapped up the November schedule on One HD. Be sure to check out the December schedule and then follow all the action with the NBA Scoreboard addon for Firefox.

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Posted in Season 09-10 | No Comments »